The college football season is about to start for the fall of 2018, but many universities have had practices throughout the summer to prepare for the upcoming year. Included in those universities is the University of Maryland, where Jordan McNair, a 19-year-old student played for the Terrapins. Sadly, while practicing in May, McNair collapsed during an outdoor workout due to heat exhaustion, and he passed away two weeks later from heatstroke. According to an ESPN report, multiple sources close to the incident said that McNair had trouble standing during the workout and was found to have a body temperature of 106 degrees when hospitalized.

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In the months since McNair collapsed, the University of Maryland has launched a full external investigation into exactly what led up to the heat exhaustion that McNair encountered during practice, which will be performed by Walters, Inc. The university will also be releasing the results of the investigation to the public. On August 14th, the university also came out and claimed legal and moral responsibility for what happened, with the University President Wallace Loh adding “Some of our policies and protocols do not conform to best practices.” The Strength and Conditioning Coach Rick Court resigned from his position, and, according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, settled with the University of Maryland to receive 315,000 dollars, or two thirds of the remaining value of his coaching contract.

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A report from ESPN was released on August 10th, citing that this was not an isolated incident, but rather a systemic problem within the college football program at Maryland, which led to a suspension of the Head Coach DJ Durkin. The Athletic Coordinator of the university stated that the Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada will step in while an investigation into the “toxic culture” of the football program is completed. In the ESPN report, many complaints were raised by former players and staffers of the program, highlighting extreme examples of harassment being inflicted on players.

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The interviewees gave examples of the harassment that they either encountered or witnessed while there, including the coaches throwing smaller weights in the direction of the players when they were upset. One player stated that the coaches wanted them to lose weight, and they were forced to eat candy bars while watching other players workout. Players were also subject to profanity-laden tirades during workouts, usually when belittling their masculinity, including one player who was berated for passing out in the middle of a practice drill.

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Current players stated that they would only answer anonymously out of fear of repercussions. The coaches would also try to “weed out” players, calling them thieves for playing on scholarships while not being good. The university has announced that they are investigating the claims raised in the ESPN article, and have not made either of the coaches that have been reprimanded available for interviews.

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According to a 911 call made from the university, McNair had a seizure on the field around 5:00 PM on May 29, but the call was not placed until an hour later. The McNair family has also hired a Baltimore based law firm to investigate his death. The personal lawyer for the family expressed that the hour gap in between the seizure and the call shows disregard for the players health and safety. Players have also cited concerns in the investigation being conducted by Maryland, saying they had to sign in for interviews and were interviewed right in front of the coaches’ offices where they could be seen, in what was supposed to be an anonymous investigation. The university refutes those claims, saying that players could sign up by text, verbally reminded by coaches to participate, and had the opportunity to do so confidentially.

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The football team has announced that they will wear stickers on their helmets with McNair’s number, his number will not be assigned to any other player for the next 3 years, and a scholarship has been made in his honor at the school. They have encased his locker in glass and will have a moment of silence before their first two home games this season, against Texas on September 1st, and against Temple on September 15th.